The Woman in Cabin 10
I mentioned recently I was now trying to give myself room for “free range reading”, that is, picking up any book that catches my eye when I visit my public library. I saw The Woman in Cabin 10, a book I didn’t have time to read last year, so I grabbed it, and am very glad I did.
Lo works as a journalist for Velocity, a travel magazine company in London.
Despite her nerves being on edge after her flat is burglarized, she accepts an assignment to cover a cruise to the Northern Lights leaving two days later, as this could be a source of promotion for her.
The Aurora Borealis, with only 10 cabins, is owned by a rich businessman, Richard Bullmer. This will actually be the maiden voyage of the small ship.
The passengers are all rich and famous, or powerful in their respective fields.
On the first night, Lo goes next door, to cabin 10, and borrows mascara from the woman.
Sleeping then fitfully, after heavy drinking, she thinks she hears a big splash in the water. She rushes to her veranda and thinks she sees the body of a woman in the water, as well as blood stains on the partition of cabin 10. Once security arrives however, the blood has disappeared and there’s no trace of anyone having ever occupied cabin 10, because of a last minute cancellation.
Could Lo, a fragile woman on antidepressants, prompt to major anxiety attacks, and a heavy drinker to make things worse, have dreamed it all? Is the woman in cabin a figment of her imagination or for real? But who then could she be, and did she really end up in the water? And how come Lo’s unable to communicate with the outside world through phone and email?
This was a very good mystery. It felt a bit like Murder on the Orient Express by boat, with a neat description of each passenger, and clues and red-herrings about who could have done what. You got it, each and every one could be guilty, even Ben, Lo’s former boyfriend. But guilty of what? That’s what Lo ends up focusing on, instead of actually networking with the passengers for her travel magazine.
And the problem is the reader is constantly questioning Lo’s state of mind. Can we trust her testimony?
Suspense is added by mysterious messages, letters and emails in between each part of the book.
The descriptions of the boat and life during a cruise were excellent, well unless you suffer from claustrophobia.
VERDICT: Many red-herrings and an unreliable narrator make this psychological mystery suspenseful and very enjoyable.
Author: Ruth Ware
US publication: 7/19/2016
by Simon & Schuster/Gallery/Scout Press
Pages: 340
Genre:
Mystery / Suspense / Thriller
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS BOOK?
Would you recommend I read other books by Ruth Ware?
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS IN A COMMENT PLEASE
I’ve heard such great things about this book and I’m on the wait list at the library for a copy!
LikeLike
cool! Let me know what you think when you are done
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds like a cross between Girl on the Train (unreliable drunken narrator) and Silence of the Sea (Nordic noir set on a yacht where everyone disappears).
LikeLike
That’s a good way to put it. I didn’t know The Silence of the Sea, so I just went to read your review. The fact that you connect it with And Then There Were None made me add it to my TBR
LikeLike
Im planning to read more by this author at some point – need to clear my bookcases a bit first though
LikeLike
It’s good, but it’s on the light side I think, but good for a quick easy read
LikeLiked by 1 person
This book sounds so interesting! I’ve never heard of it, but I always enjoy trying to discern whether the narrator is unreliable!
-Amy
LikeLike
ah! that’s the question, lol. This book was very popular last year, but I had this crazy reading schedule and could not fit it. Let me know what you think when you read it
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha. Okay, will do!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed the novel as well and posted a review today. Great review!
LikeLike
thanks for stopping by, just left a comment at your place
LikeLike